News

OzWater 2017

Watercon will be attending OzWater 2017 this year in Sydney, Australia!

The show runs from the 16th – 18th of May, so if you get a chance, come down and meet the team! We will be giving updates closer to the date to ensure you know exactly what is happening this year, stay tuned!

AIRVAC is the Sewerage Solution for Acid Sulfate Soil Areas

Acid Sulfate Soils (ASS) and other sulfide containing soils such as MBO’s (Monosulfidic Black Ooze) are a significant problem for developers, engineers and civil contractors in many Australian coastal and some inland areas. Many of these areas were previously deemed ‘too hard’ to develop. The shortage of coastal real estate mean that these areas are now being developed or considered for development.

Dewatering and excavation of these soils will cause exposure to atmospheric oxygen resulting in production of sulfuric acid. Unless properly managed, the now acidic soils with their low pH can mobilise heavy metals within the soils and along with the acid cause wide spread contamination of waterways and aquifers downstream of the construction area. The cleanup and remediation costs can be astonomical and may result in permanent environmental damage.

These sulfide containing soils have existed and remained benign for millions years and they will continue to so as long as they are not disturbed. The best way to manage construction in ASS prone areas is to avoid lowering the water table and minimising the depth and extent of excavations. This means managing the ASS issues at initial concept design though to completion of construction.

Providing sewerage to developments constructed in ASS prone areas using traditional gravity systems can result in massive construction costs due to the deep excavations required and the resultant management of the dewatering effluent and the exposed soils both those excavated, and those remaining in the ground, but exposed as a result of lowering of the water table.

Gravity is not the answer!

AIRVAC Vacuum Sewerage systems are the natural choice in these areas as the major infrastructure pump stations can be constructed above ground and the vacuum collection mains installed at minimum depth, often above the water table thus avoiding disturbing the acid sulfate soils. The reduced excavation requirements will minimise construction time and costs even if you’re not dealing with ASS’s.

Using an AIRVAC Vacuum Sewerage System can significantly reduce your ASS management and construction costs while adding green credentials, improving the triple bottom line of your project.

Watercon can assist your project development by providing a free budget estimate and a preliminary concept layout prepared in AutoCAD format. The included report will detail all the technical aspects relating to the layout including component sizing and capital and annual operational costs.

Bayview Vacuum Sewerage Pump Station

Construction of the new AIRVAC Vacuum Pumping Station for PowerWater to service the Bayview Haven Estate in Darwin is nearing completion.

Bayview Haven Estate comprises approximately 230 lots serviced by 57 AIRVAC DN80 Vacuum Interface Valves. An AIRVAC Vacuum Sewerage System was chosen due to Bayview being a canal type development constructed in a low lying area with very high water table.

Traditional gravity sewerage was not an option for this project.

The AIRVAC system also provides a high level of environmental security; the system operates under vacuum, sewerage will not be released to the local environment in the event that a collection main is damaged or develops a leak as is the case for gravity sewerage.

Construction commenced in November with construction of the concrete dry well and tilt-up concrete building. Fabrication of the stainless steel collection vessel also commenced at Watercon’s workshop in Malaga.

Due to the tireless efforts of our sub-contractor, Omega Constructions, and long hours by our workshop team, the vessel was installed and the building achieved lock-up stage only two days before the wet season set in and suspended works until March.

Watercon personnel are currently on-site completing the mechanical and electrical fit-out despite the weather. Commissioning is due to commence early April.

Full details of this project will be provided soon on our Projects page.

Please contact Watercon if you would like more information on this project

Watercon at Ozwater ’10

Watercon will be at Ozwater again this year, this time is Brisbane. Danny Chrisp and Phil Dixon will be attending the stand, and we will be once again joined by Tom LaHue from AIRVAC, who will be flying in from Los Angeles.

If you are new to vacuum sewerage come along an learn about all the benefits of the AIRVAC system, or if your an existing user, come and see the improved products and some new ones as well. Designers and planners, take the opportunity to discuss your needs with the team.

SCADA for Vacuum Collection Pits

One of the key issues with operating and maintaining a vacuum sewerage scheme is quickly identifying problems with vacuum interface valves and pits. It is often easy to identify which vacuum collection main contains the troublesome pit/valve, but then the pit has to be identified manually by an operator, either by listening to each pit, or physically removing the pit cover. This is slow, time consuming and costly to the system owner.

Watercon is currently developing a landline and wireless based SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Aquisition) System to enable operators and owners to remotely monitor their vacuum collection pits.

Both of these systems will be able to be retrofitted to existing systems or installed as part of a new development. Both systems will allow analysis of the reticulation scheme at a glance, pinpointing troublesome areas which otherwise may be undetected, as well as providing data which can be used to increase the system performance and identify such things as illegal sewer connections.

Please contact Watercon for an appraisal of your Vacuum Sewerage System telemetry requirements.

Watercon Awarded Fishermans Bay Vacuum Sewerage Scheme Project

Fishermans BayWe are pleased to announce Watercon has been appointed as the Principal Supplier for the Fishermans Bay Sewerage Scheme utilising AIRVAC Vacuum Systems as the preferred design.

Fishermans Bay is a Coastal Community on the South Australian Peninsula.

In the consideration for their Sewerage System Scheme, Environmental Considerations were paramount in the selection of Vacuum as their preferred choice.

This coastal community has sewer issues that are common to hundreds of seaside communities. Like a lot of older communities, many of the homes in Fishermans Bay rely on septic tanks for the treatment of sewage.

As most wastewater experts know, septic tank systems may fail over time and allow untreated sewage to leak into the groundwater.

The obvious solution is to eliminate septic tanks in favour of a Gravity sewer system. However, a high water table, sandy soil, flat terrain, and densely populated neighbourhood create significant installation obstacles for a gravity sewer system.

Deep trenches and dewatering is necessary to bury the collection lines for gravity sewers, and numerous pumping stations are required in flat terrains to keep wastewater moving toward the treatment plant.

The combination of these factors makes for an expensive, highly disruptive wastewater project—the kind that civil engineers and communities loathe. There are no easy, inexpensive solutions to wastewater collection, especially for communities like Fishermans Bay. This Community has discovered that there are alternatives to gravity flow sewers, alternatives that are cost effective, highly efficient, and far less disruptive to install.

The disruption caused by the installation of the Vacuum sewer is minimal and only one vacuum station will be required to serve hundreds of homes.

Fishermans Bay is a community that has become wise over time. The community is converting from troublesome septic tanks to efficient vacuum sewers that are environmentally friendly and dependable.